Stockholm Syndrome
by InnovativeIvia
Summary: Percy was having a bad which quickly escalated into his worst day when two bank robbers mess up and take him hostage. But then they realize he's useless and try to sell him... but fail. And now, he's tied up in their attic. A nice guy and criminals in one house...the last thing he needed was the dam Stockholm Syndrome.
1. You're a Hostage, BTW

**Hello readers!**

 **This is an idea that I have had for many days (cough two days cough). I thought that there were many 'Stockholm Syndrome' stories that didn't really capture the fear and torture that came before any sort of mutual attraction and while, I like Percabeth a lot - I honestly have no idea which pairing to end up with. I guess it would be like a voting competition. (More about that in footnote.)**

 **About this story, I would be posting a chapter every Tuesday/ Wednesday (Considering how long it takes to appear) but sometimes, I might post chapters earlier and if I haven't posted any chapter, I would definitely tell you the next schedule in my bio.**

 **This story is about the difficulty of Stockholm Syndrome - and the pains of poverty and criminal things but I am not going to include any swear words (Until warned) I would try to explore the themes in the most non-painful way possible.**

 **I hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer - I own the story but not the characters.**

* * *

Looking back on it all, Percy felt stupid.

Now, see – his best friend, Lou Ellen, who did weird sorcery stuff (pretended to) listened to her but the thing was that most of the days were bad days to be alive according to her – Percy had never been the bookish smart one. He always got scolded by one teacher or another and when, she said it was a bad day, it just meant he would definitely get scolded but he had never expected it all to come to this. Nup, never.

That day was insanely hot – especially for him since that day, instead of making them swim, the coach had made them run rounds in the heat in the football ground for everyone to see. In their speedos. The coach insisted that it was their punishment for winning only two awards at the recent swim event – Freestyle, which Percy as captain of the swim team had honourably won and the Medley Relay. Goode High School was kind of like a powerhouse in swimming. People expected them to win most of the events but most people had no idea how difficult attaining an All-Kill was.

Percy had a very good idea.

After all, he'd kept himself in shape for swimming with a lot of hard work. It felt good when it seemed like the hard work was paying off in All-Kills and prizes, not abs and muscles for the whole school to see.

He blushed, as he walked down the street.

The mental image of everyone clicking pictures at him and whistling was so mentally scarring and humiliating that Percy never wanted to show up his face in school again. He wished that the incident would be forgotten by tomorrow but judging by the constant 'tck' of notifications ringing in his phone, he guessed not.

He sighed and decided to sit somewhere to rest for a while. In air conditioner, most probably. It was just too hot but currently, there weren't any places with air conditioner except for a bank. He instantly thought about the air-conditioner ATMs on one side of the bank and how, he could use some cash from his mom's card to buy her flowers, right now.

His mom absolutely loved flowers.

As Percy entered the ATM booth area, he noticed that out of three, only one was occupied with a man, just standing under the AC, much like Percy was going to do. He entered the booth and did his transactions fast and leaned against the wall as cold air dried out his sweat drops and relieved him of the heat.

Just when Percy was about to haul his butt and buy the flowers for his mother, there came some shouting and hustling and jostling sounds from the bank and Percy wondered if an angry mob had gathered out. He was just about to inspect when there were two loud BAM!, which sounded a lot like gunshots. His eyes widened and while he wasn't comprehending anything, his body acted of its own accord. His knees fell to the floor and he scurried behind the ATM machine, away from the direct view.

He took a shaky breath to calm himself. Only a clear mind can serve clear purpose. He breathed again and heard for more sounds. He heard a yell and a crash, like a chair being thrown. He knew those kinds of voices because of his abusive ex-step-father. With shaky fingers, he took out his phone and dialled in police's number but before he could press the call button, the door to is booth flew open.

Percy immediately silenced his phone and the notifications stopped ringing. ' _Okay, it's okay,_ ' He reassured himself, ' _Whoever it is won't notice me. Probably they are someone who's there to help me, instead of a robber_.'

Turned out, both his wishes were wrong.

 _First_ , the person noticed him.

"Come one, now. I know someone's hiding there," A sweet female voice called out – too sweet to be a criminal. Percy shut his eyes and prayed. _Please let it be a saviour. Please let it be a saviour._

 _Second,_ theperson wasn't a saviour.

The girl marched up to the side of the ATM and yanked him out by the arm. She was wearing a black jumpsuit and her face was completely hidden except for her eyes, which were many colours at once. They travelled to his phone, clutched in his hand and Percy barely had a moment before pressing the call button, when the girl slapped the phone out of his hands and the device fell to the floor but Percy had managed to call the police.

The girl knew this when the phone began to ring.

"You idiot," She whispered – screamed to him as she fully pushed him to the floor in a swift motion and trapped his hands behind his back. The girl pressed him down with legs folded above his and her hands clasped firmly to his mouth, pretending him to even make a sound.

"Police department and – wait, hello?" Someone – the police's voice called out in the phone. Percy writhed under the hard grip of the girl and shouted but her hand on his mouth muffled everything.

"Hello?" The voice called out again. Percy stared at the girl. Her eyes were wide in fear. That made him writhe more.

"Hello?" The voice called out a third time, "Listen, dear caller, this better not be a prank. We already have so many calls to receive. Wait an hour or less, I'll trace this number and get to you."

The phone line cut and the girl relaxed but then, she stiffened once again as she glared at him.

"You. Idiot." She hauled him up, grabbed his phone and pulled him in the bank, where Percy noticed that people were all on their knees with their hands up. It seemed so much like a thrilling movie scene but right now, there was nothing thrilling – only scary. The girl brought him in, towards the counter where another figure in black was stacking money in a suitcase and then kicked his back and he fell to his knees like a pathetic sandbag.

"Hands up!" She shouted and he lifted his hands. He wasn't much afraid of the girl and her physical punches and kicks but he was definitely scared of the gun in her holster.

His eyes followed the girl as she went to the figure and said, "Hey, I messed up. The guy with the pretty eyes managed to call the police and while they thought he was a prank caller, since I didn't let him speak, they said they'd trace his phone."

"Wait, what?" The second figure replied in a feminine voice. She turned towards the girl with multicoloured eyes – her own eyes were steel grey, "Why didn't you answer the call – pretend it was a mistake?"

The other girl sighed and said, desperately, "Well, there's a reason why I said I messed up!"

The grey-eyed girl shook her head, "Give the phone. I'll fix the trace problem and _then_ , I'll see how they trace him."

The multicoloured eyed girl nodded and started filling up the suitcase instead while, they grey-eyed one messed with his phone. His loving phone.

Percy sighed. His arms were tiring out by constantly holding them up – so, was the woman's who was sitting next to him, crying soundlessly. She was pregnant, Percy noticed by her swelled middle. And her hands were dipping much like Percy's.

The grey-eyed girl, locked her scary eyes with him, "I'd suggest you not. Keep them up. Straight." The girl briefly glanced at the woman before continuing her work.

Percy stared at the woman and her cheeks dipping with tears and he didn't know how he found the courage but he spoke up.

"It isn't fair. The woman is pregnant. Cut her some slack." The grey eyes locked dangerously with his own sea-green ones and he found himself regretting speaking up. The girl tossed his phones on one side, apparently finishing up her work and strolled towards him, so stiffly and so regally, it felt like she was a ruler of some sort. A queen.

"Stand up," Her voice wasn't particularly loud but it echoed and it was stern. Percy obliged. The pregnant woman looked up at him – her brown eyes full of concern but he couldn't give back a reassuring smile. Not with those grey eyes seeping into his soul.

"First, nothing is ever fair. Second, the command that I gave previously was meant for you and third, I don't remember asking your opinion. Did I ask you?"

Percy stayed silent.

"Answer me."

He momentarily closed his eyes, imagining the headlines – 16 Years Old Killed by Gunshot at Bank Robbery. And then, he decided that life was painful anyway, so he answered her.

"No,"

"Exactly. Who gave you the permission to speak?" Her grey eyes were far too scary for him. The gun in her holster, the silence, the fright in the air – it was too overwhelming but he tried not to let his fear show. If he had learnt anything from his ex-step-father, it was to never show fear that that the predator can smell. They'll grow more powerful.

"Well, I – I just felt – "He was cut off.

"You just felt? Who gave you the permission to feel, huh?"

Percy blamed his twisty tongue for what happened next, "Feeling is a human thing. You won't understand – "

The grey eyes fixated him in such a way that Percy wondered whether he could die from her looks. He thought the girl was going to kill him, but she turned to her partner instead and the next words took the life away from Percy.

"We need a hostage in this case because of the small slip-up. We'll take him." She announced. Percy's eyes widened. Nup. Not happening. No way.

The other girl squinted at him, "They pretty eyed guy?" She shrugged, "Fine by me."

The girl turned to him.

"No, wait. You're not taking me anywhere. I'm not going. I'm not going to be a hostage. No. You can't – "The words rushed out of him. In all of this, all Percy wanted was to go back home. They weren't taking him away.

The girl scrutinized him, "If you don't oblige, we'll use force. And if you're still being difficult," the girl's hand touched her holster, "Well, I don't carry a gun without knowing how to use it. I'd say you sit down, now. Oh, and hands up."

Percy felt to the floor, giving everything, he had to not cry and curl up. Thankfully, his eyes didn't water. They hardened instead even when everything inside him was hurting like crazy. He just wanted to be with his mom now, sipping her hot chocolate and listening to her novel being read out.

"And also," The girl turned to the pregnant woman, "You can sit however you want. After all, he just decided to be a hostage and ruin his life instead of letting your hands stay up for a little longer."

Percy bit his lip. Now that he thought about it, it was a small thing to be hostage about. But as he saw the woman bite her lips to stop sobbing and cradle her stomach and smile slightly – he could see in her eyes that she was happy to touch her baby, he felt that it was still a nice thing to do.

He smiled at the woman, happy to at least make a mother happy – it was a hard thing to do. Mothers are mostly only happy when their child is good and Percy wasn't the woman's son but he made her smile slightly in a bank robbery.

That was the good point of a horrible, horrible day.

The grey eyed girl noticed him smiling at the woman, glad for the woman and narrowed her eyes at him. He swore he could hear her think, 'Interesting' before walking back up to the counter.

* * *

 **So, there was the first chapter. I swear when I write chapters in Microsoft Word, they seem so lengthy (Like 4 pages in one sitting! Calls for ice-cream but when I paste it here- I'm like man, should have written more.'**

 **And about the voting thing - some possible pairings are:-**

 **Percy/ Lou**

 **Percy/ Piper**

 **Percy/ Annabeth (High possibility)**

 **Percy/ Rachel (high possibility)**

 **Percy/ Katie**

 **Percy / Drew (Also high possibility)**

 **Percy/ Kayla (Sounds good)**

 **Percy/ nobody (Also high possibility.)**

 **Please vote - Lou, Piper, Katie are meant as friends (so, I decided to have a good friendship without attraction but if people want it...) (Percy is kinda sold to Drew, so attraction might be possible.)**

 **I really hope you enjoy!**

 **Love y'all,**

 **InnovativeIvia**


	2. No Going Back, Honey

**Hello, readers!**

 **So, we have the second chapter already! While some might argue, this chapter wasn't really needed, I felt like emotions drive a dark story more than actions, so here it is. I was amazed to see so many favourites and follows and even one review.**

 **Thanks a lot to-**

 **Dominique Torreto (Thanks for the fav and follow!)**

 **Memeraii (Thanks for the fav and follow!)**

 **TheSkyWeSawThatDay (Thanks for the follow!**

 **amazingAwesomeness ( I like your username) (Thanks for the review! Follow! And fav!)**

 **certius (Thanks for the follow!)**

 **randomfandom37 (cool username)**

 **7 (Thanks for the fav! Follow!)**

 **and Snowst5367 (Thanks for the fav!)**

 **Till now, I have received one review on the Percabeth side so I'll be pulling Percabeth in the next chapter.**

 **Disclaimer - I don't own the characters.**

* * *

Percy would admit it. He was scared out of his mind. But in a strange Percy–sort of way, that seemed to calm him down. He was used to the feeling of his heartbeat racing a hundred kilometres an hour. He was used to the feeling of his head throbbing, his chest swelling with unspoken words and held-back tears and his body shivering from time to time.

In a strange way, it calmed him down.

Percy had felt like this whenever he was being beaten by Gabe, his ex-step-father. He knew how to hold up his image – all those years living with his mom, who broke down into tears easily, in poverty had taught him that. Him being the captain of the swim-team and an ADHD, dyslexic kid had taught him how to deal with pressure, even when it felt like a gorilla was marching on his chest.

He knew fear like he knew Lou.

And the familiar symptoms of dead fear calmed him down.

So, while everybody in the bank cried silently and rocked and shivered and tried desperate attempts to retrieve their phones and avoid the guns, all Percy did was keep his hands up, straight up, and keep his expression stone hard. He knew fear and he knew that fear couldn't be avoided – he let it wash over him but he dared not show his fear. The thing with emotions is that the more you accept them, the easier it is to mask them.

And whenever, the grey-eyed girl smirked at him, he showed her his mask face – his wolf glare. Whenever, she glared at him, he tilted his head back to let her glare at him even more. The more she glared, the more confident he found himself. She wouldn't be glaring for so long if she considered him an easy target. That was the basic.

Most of the time, Percy stared at the pregnant woman who continuously mouthed 'sorry.' He wondered how his mom would react when she found out that he was kidnapped. He also wondered if there was a way he could avoid telling her. His mom literally only had him for a family, which meant he only had her. Neither could afford to lose the other. He decided that he would avoid telling her, as much as possible. Which sounded almost impossible. But the thing was Percy was an adventurous kid. He could be gone for a week or some weeks and his mom wouldn't care – not because she wasn't a good mom but because he wasn't the perfect kid. Percy loved expeditions. He went to a summer camp where they did adventures and stuff and his friends were also used to it. They wouldn't wonder about it.

He wasn't a prominent person.

He sighed and just then, the multicolour eyed girl shut the suitcase with a thud and announced,

"Done,"

The grey-eyed girl nodded and took a bag, in which all the phones were, zipped it shut and threw it into some drawer. She kicked the drawer door shut.

"Well, about time," She stood up and took out her gun from her holster. Everybody visibly panicked – some closed their eyes shut and some started crying loudly. Their panic just increased when the girl flicked the safety off.

"Please, please forgive me. I haven't done anything – please don't," A young man in a business suit rambled, his voice shaking horribly.

"Shut up," The girl said to him and her grey eyes found Percy's eyes, "Get up. With your hands up."

The pregnant woman looked from him to the girl, "Please, have mercy on him. He's – he's just a teenage boy-"

"This gun isn't meant for you," The girl replied coldly, shutting up the woman effectively, "Or your baby. I'll say you worry about your child, first."

The air seemed to have thickened with those words. Everyone who was staring at Percy and the girl with injustice, eagerness to say something and a bit of courage, looked down, watching out first for themselves and their own. Their eyes were filled with guilt.

Percy looked away. Guilt was one of the emotions that he did not like seeing. Guilt was one emotion that he could not conquer and seeing all of them guilty tugged at him as a reminder that everything from now on, would be the things he hated – including the broken expression on the woman's face. Now that he thought about it, her brown hair reminded him of his mom, so he leaned in slightly towards her and said the words he always said to his mom when she was feeling blue –

"It's all right. It's going to be okay," He muttered and then, he added, "I'll try to be fine."

The woman looked at him, with a pained expression, "You shouldn't have done that for me. It was- "

"My choice," He completed and then, glancing at her face and her stomach, he added, "I don't regret it. Stay safe." Percy was aware of both the robber girls looking at him.

"What, what is – is your name?" She asked.

"No need," The grey-eyed girl said and turned to him, "If you answer, I'll shoot you right here. Now." She pointed the gun at his forehead and Percy felt a wave of strong, hard, fear crash into him. He closed his eyes to gather himself for a moment.

"Fine," He said, "Got it. No need for bloodshed."

"No need for bloodshed," The multicolour eyed one snorted, "I like this one."

The grey eyed one narrowed her eyes and walked behind him, "Walk ahead," She commanded and the other girl led him to the back entrance, where on the street, Percy noticed was a white SUV. The girl in front of him opened the middle seat door and set the suitcase underneath the street and pulled out a bag of clothes and then, she handed one pair to the grey-eyed girl.

"Here," The grey-eyed girl took off her head mask before grabbing the clothes. Percy was astonished to see blonde curls tumble down in a ponytail. The blonde's face was beautiful but intimidating. She looked like a regal person – someone who rules.

But Percy soon had to close his eyes because the blonde started unzipping her black bodysuit right in front of him. Technically, Percy didn't have to close his eyes but he was too much of an innocent guy to stare at a woman – no matter how venomous – change.

He heard the other girl chuckle, "Look at him, Annabeth," _So the blonde was Annabeth_ , "He's closed his eyes. So innocent."

"Eh," The girl, Annabeth, replied, "We'll see for how long he remains that way,"

"True," There was a pause and then, the unnamed girl continued, "You watch him. I'll change."

Needless to say, Percy remained with his eyes shut.

"Done," The girl said. Percy opened his eyes to find the unnamed girl having dark choppy hair. Both of his kidnappers looked so mundane in casual T-shirts and jeans that Percy had trouble believing they were criminals who'd robbed a bank.

Annabeth's eyes found his, "Good," She answered to her friend, "Now, let's tie him up."

Percy's eyes widened as a different sort of fear started settling into his bones, "Tie me up?"

"Of course," Annabeth replied coolly, "And gag you and let you in the back of the car. Hidden. Scared?"

His voice was shaky when he replied, "Listen," He took a breath, "I am pretty sure I have Merinthophobia and also, Claustrophobia. Merinthophobia is the phobia of – "

"Of being tied. Gagged. Bound." Annabeth replied, "I might be a robber. But I'm sure, I am smarter than you."

"No kidding," The other girl replied as she handed ropes to Annabeth, "She is one of the best strategists in the world."

"A criminal strategist," Percy said slowly, looking at Annabeth and her calculating grey eyes.

"Hey, don't judge," The girl said, patting his shoulders as Annabeth untangled the ropes, "Criminal or not. She's pretty smart. A very intelligent kid."

Percy swallowed. He was looking at the rope, "So, anyway, seeing I have Merinthophobia and Claustrophobia – you'll probably not tie me up?" He asked tenderly.

"Oh, I'll tie you up," Annabeth replied, reaching behind him to tie his hands, "Your phobias just made it more fun."

"Fun," He repeated.

"Definite, popcorn type fun," She said as she finished tying him up and dragged him into the back of the car. She opened the door to the back seats of the car. The double vertical seats, facing each other were lifted up.

"Fit in," She ordered.

"Fit in? What – how?" Percy stared at the small space, and his heart crawled into his throat. He imagined being stuck in the small enclosure of the car forever.

"I did not ask," Annabeth replied sternly, "Fit in or I'll kill you."

That got him moving. He somehow managed to get in, leaning his back against one side and folding his legs beneath him. He already felt sweaty and worked up. It didn't help when Annabeth ordered him to lay his head on the floor and he awkwardly had to cross his legs as he lay down, horizontally in the small, confined space. Annabeth lowered one seat near his legs and sat on it while the other girl shut the door, locking Percy in his misery and entering into the driver seat. Things became worse when Annabeth gagged him and lowered the other seat partly, so Percy felt trapped beneath the seats.

He couldn't even speak. Normally, Percy dealt with his phobia with rambling – a lot of rambling but right now, he couldn't do anything. There were no rubber balls for him to squeeze, no person to calm him down and no escape out. He was stuck.

It felt like he was being cut off by everything he loved and everything he was, when the engine started. He was laying on the floor so he could feel the hum of the engine under him. It was weird. It felt like a thousand ants were crawling under his shirt. Percy widened his eyes and tried his usual tactic of calming down by closing his eyes.

But the second he closed his eyes, he felt even more trapped, as if he was locked forever in a cellar. Percy's eyes flew open. He was shaking slightly and sweating a lot. At this rate, he'd be dehydrated. His muscles were tingling. He wanted to spread his legs, spread his hands, be near the vast, open ocean and shout his heart out.

But he couldn't.

"You're really afraid, aren't you?" Annabeth said. Percy couldn't judge her expression. He felt too 'dam' restless to look at her face. He nodded weakly and stared at the side window, in the empty seats ahead of him.

"I'm thinking, should I untie you?" Annabeth wondered out aloud and Percy's gaze flew to her. His self-made rock-face did not come on. He knew that she could see in his eyes how much he was pleading.

She tilted her head to glare at him, "Kidding. Get used to your phobia."

Percy's hope blackened. His eyes darkened as he stared out the window. How could he have expected anything nice? It was his fault to have expectations for things that couldn't happen.

Suddenly, in the background, Percy noticed the horns of police cars, probably heading towards the bank. Their SUV passed right through. And they weren't stopped. It felt like a monster was stampeding on all of his hopes and one by one, they were all being crushed.

So no getting free, no police, what else did he have?

Suddenly, it dawned on him that his mom might be awaiting him back home. Even though, he did expeditions, he always called her before and after going. Percy closed his eyes and the same entrapment fear came with its claws open at him. He opened his eyes. But he understood that if he was to be tied up from now on, and god's forbid – sleep tied up, he'll have to face the monster. He closed his eyes again and the fear came like a whip but Percy thought about his mother – her warm brown curls, light blue eyes. He thought about Lou, dark hair and green eyes and his fear calmed, replaced by an intensity of wanting to be with them.

Percy really wanted to call his mom…just tell her he's fine.

He looked at Annabeth, sitting silently, her elbows crossed. She had a shut-off aura around her like she could punch anyone who dared to disturb her. Percy dared. He was a reckless youth. He dared.

Percy tapped his fingers against the floor of the car and also tapped his foot against the seat Annabeth was sitting on. A normal person might have ignored the small distraction but Annabeth noticed. She frowned at him.

"What?" She asked.

Percy eyed his gag – tried to. In his visual field, all he saw was a blurred nose tip.

"Your gag?" Thankfully, she got it. He nodded. It was the only thing he could do without feeling stupid.

"What with it?" She asked. He tucked his chin out and looked at her hands and then, his gag.

"Open your gag?" She looked bored, honestly. One of her eyebrows were raised at his pathetic attempt to converse.

He nodded.

"And why should I do that?" She asked. Percy flopped his head back in exasperation. Honestly, couldn't she ungag him first and then ask him questions? It was so hard conversing with his eyes and neck movements.

But Percy tried. He stared at his phone in her lap. She followed his gaze and her eyes hardened.

"You want to call the police, don't you?" She said. Her voice was dangerously low.

"Does he?" The other girl looked back for a second most probably because Annabeth locked her eyes in the front side. That's all he could see from his point of view. What caught his eye was the necklace she wore – with a ring, hanging from it, "If he wants to, we'll throw him out of the car. If the police don't find out about us, then he's useless."

"We'll find whether he's useless by this evening," Annabeth replied, "Keep driving, Piper."

 _Piper_ , Percy thought, _Finally the other girl's name is revealed_.

Annabeth and Piper, sweet names. Who would have thought they were robbers?

"Now," Annabeth turned back to him, "Who do you want to call? The police?"

Percy shook his head. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Then whom?"

Percy tried to mouth but realized it would be useless and he did not know any way of speaking 'mom' with his eyes. He waited for Annabeth to realize this. When she did, she grasped her gun and even though, the safety was on, Percy feared the weapon, because it was in evil hands.

"If you scream or do anything suspicious, I'm going to shoot you. And I know the safety is on but I know how to turn it on." She added and ungagged him. Percy immediately started panting softly.

"Better," He murmured and he was surprised to hear how weak his voice sounded. He licked his dry lips.

"Not for long. Whom do you want to call?" She asked him, eyes bearing into his.

"My mom,"

"Your mom?"

"Yeah," Annabeth looked at him for long, as if trying to figure out what plan he had. The thing was he didn't have one. And after staring at her for long, she seemed to realize that he couldn't possibly speak the lie and maintain it while being so tired.

"What would you tell her?" She asked.

"That I'm fine. And that I'm off to some expedition and that she shouldn't worry," Percy replied hoarsely. He really wanted water.

Annabeth eyed him before deciding, "Fine. But if you say something else that is not needed, for instance, our identities, I'll stab you right here. I don't think a mother would like to hear his son cry while he dies."

Percy nodded, "I'll keep that in mind. But before that can I have some water? My mother pays real attention to me. She'd notice my voice and worry. Please."

It was the first time Percy had actually requested something of his kidnappers. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Piper?" She called out.

"Yeah, wait a sec," Piper threw a canteen of water which Annabeth expertly caught.

"Here," She pushed it towards Percy, "Drink."

Percy leaned upwards before gesturing to his tied arms helplessly.

"Ugh, I'm not your babysitter," Annabeth said as she uncapped the bottle.

"You don't have to do all this if you untie me," Percy pointed out.

"Shut up," He obliged. After all, if a girl - even if a criminal girl - requests anything from you, you oblige.

Annabeth leaned forward and he opened his mouth as she poured down water. Percy felt relieved as he gulped the water. Annabeth wasn't really good at these kinds of things so a little water fell down his neck and under his shirt but Percy was relieved for the cold liquid to cool him a bit. He was so sweaty, even with the air conditioner on.

When Percy was done, Annabeth drank some water herself before flipping the bottle to Piper. And then, Annabeth took out a knife and stared at him. The message in them was clear. One-word slip and she'd impale him. And then, she took his phone and opened it.

"What's her contact saved as?" She asked.

"Uh, mom," He replied. He wanted to scratch his neck but his hands were tied, which made a dose of phobia instincts return. As Annabeth tapped and searched on his phone, Percy felt the need to rub his hands, or his neck or just make movements. He was anxious.

"Oh, Piper, hear this," Annabeth said, "He has 'mom' saved with a pink heart."

Piper cooed, "How cute. You might have a good relationship with her then. Huh?"

"Yeah," Percy replied earnestly, "She's all I have."

"No father?" Annabeth asked.

"I've had an ex-step-dad, wasn't fond of him. And my father's well, he's alive, but my mom and him weren't married or anything. He's just alive." He said. There were days when he couldn't decide who was a bigger jerk – his ex-step-father, Smelly Gabe or his father. One beat him up and was dead. And one barely talked to him or considered him and was alive.

"You have your father's looks, then," Annabeth said, staring at the picture of his mom, "Your mother and you look nothing alike."

"Yeah," Percy said and his voice came bitter. Annabeth raised her eyebrows at that before calling and putting the phone into loudspeaker.

"Listen," She said as the phone rang, "Not a word or I'll stab you."

Percy nodded and his mom picked up.

" _Hello? Percy?"_ His mom's voice came on and Percy felt a spark of happiness, only his mom can procure.

"Yeah. I just-" His mom cut him off.

" _How was you day?"_ He blinked at the question. How could he tell her it was his worst yet? He looked at Annabeth for a second before replying.

"Frankly, in all aspects that matter, today was more on the bad side."

" _Same,"_ His mom replied, _"I got this angsty customer at the shop to whom I had to give free candy and I had no inspiration to write and my writing seminar isn't going to be held today. And when I came home, it was so hot, and there was no electricity because I forgot to pay the electricity bill and you weren't home to make me lemonade._ "

"Uh, sorry about that. What I was saying is that –"

" _Oh, you didn't tell me how your day was. Go on."_ His mom said.

Percy looked at Annabeth who was trying hard not to smile, "Um, I told you it wasn't good. The history teacher complained that I switched into Greek for the other half of the essay and the English teacher was angry at me because I couldn't read and he didn't understand how severe my case of dyslexia was. And the punishment for only two awards was running in speedos in the football ground while everyone watched and took pictures. It was humiliating. But the good thing was that to cool off, I decided to travel."

" _Travelling, huh? Where?"_ His mom asked.

"Don't really have a destination. I'm with camp friends. Not really sure when I'll be back." He swallowed.

" _Oh,"_ His mom sounded a bit disappointed, _"Would you be back for the special day?"_

"Don't know."

" _Okay…stay safe, fine?"_

The irony of the sentence. _Stay safe_.

"I-I'll try. You too." He replied.

" _Yeah, okay. Take care, honey. Love you."_

"Yeah, love you too."

The line cut and Percy felt his heart sink. But then, Annabeth had her knife pressed to his throat.

"What is the special day, huh? Is it a code message?" She asked.

"No, uh it's my birthday," Percy replied, trying to ignore the knife, "Eighteenth August."

"Okay…" She slid the knife away, "But seriously? Running around in speedos?" She cracked a smile and Percy felt himself blush.

"Ooh and the way he said 'Yeah, love you too,' So sweet!" Piper cooed, "Are you a mamma's boy?"

Percy reddened even more, "I guess."

"Oh, better." Piper said and then, went on driving. Annabeth retrieved the gag. Percy looked at her eyes but he wasn't pleading this time. He was daring her to gag him.

She dared.

Annabeth's hands brushed against his neck as she did the gag and Percy lay against the floor, once again and the fear instilled but he felt so tired that he closed his eyes and when the monster leapt at him, Percy let him because, after talking to his mom, Percy knew there was no turning way, no way out. The last hope to escape had been stomped upon by him himself.

No hopes left that he could bear.

Only the bitter reality left to face.

He felt a strange sort of peace as his phobia instincts shook him up, made him shiver and sweat.

* * *

 **There was more conversation here but I liked the chapter. I wrote eight pages in one sitting by staying up all night, which is like double of the first chapter and I'm trying to improve my crappy writing. And this wasn't a Tuesday update, I just wanted to write.**

 **Please review!**

 **And what do you think would happen next?**

 **Review on your favourite ships ... that wouldn't sink.**

 **Stay happy, healthy and fit.**

 **Live as if you'll die tomorrow and dream as if you will live forever.**

 **Love,**

 **InnovativeIvia**


	3. The Impact Never Came

**Hello readers!**

 **I am thankful for the numerous favourites/follows/reviews that you have given to my story. And we have 200+ views! Yeah!**

 **Here is the third chapter - 'The impact never came.' I thought I should make it longer but well, I didn't want to cross the 4000 word count rule for a chapter besides it rouses interest this way. I'm sorry because I've literally stretched one day into THREE chapters. But, yeah sorry.**

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* * *

Annabeth couldn't think of a plan.

Earlier that day, when she'd faced the terms that she needed to rob some money to pay her gang's debts to another gang and get some money to feed her siblings, she'd internally known that something was going to go wrong.

Robbing banks weren't her thing – she preferred to be the statistic most of the time. And robbing felt like personal lows. But Jason and Connor, her friends who usually assisted Piper with stealing was injured and Katie and Travis were helping Leo build some weapons while Rachel had school and others were all busy or novices.

But looking back on the day, Annabeth herself felt like a novice. It was a roughly done work. She should have worn contracts and disguised her voice and that raven-haired guy had almost slipped away.

When Piper first brought him, she was warried. The boy simply wasn't scared enough. And when, he'd asked her to let the pregnant lady sit however she wanted, Annabeth was half-impressed by his bravery to speak and half-annoyed at his niceness and stupidity. Nice and stupid. Two words that couldn't describe her. So, she'd told him he was going to be a hostage. She'd expected him to be angry at the woman or apologize for speaking up – driven in fear but he'd just been a bit shocked and _smiled_ at the woman. He was actually happy for her.

Selfless. Annabeth wished the people in her gang were as selfless – they were all loyal but they weren't the most selfless people.

She was even more annoyed when he wasn't bothered by her glare – when he wasn't scared. His sea-green eyes were rare like him. He was the first one to stare back at her. It wasn't like he wasn't afraid, she noticed, he was terrified but he was so in …tune with his fear that he could control it. When the sea-green eyed guy had told the lady, he did not regret his choice to speak up for her, she had wanted to strangle him. He was being held hostage just because he'd asked for someone else to sit comfortably.

Where was the sense in that?

' _It was your choice,' Piper had told her, while they were robbing, 'You should know where the sense in that is.'_

' _I want him to know the world isn't good,' Annabeth had replied, 'I don't like nice, selfless people. They don't the real world. They are fools.'_

 _Yeah, that was it_ , Annabeth told herself, _that is why you've taken him._

When Annabeth knew of his phobias, she pitied him. She herself had Arachnophobia but she reacted way worse. She couldn't control it. Somewhere in the ride, she felt like the guy had let it all wash over him after talking to his mom. He was brave that way.

And his conversation with his mom.

That was something. She learned his name was Percy. That he was a mama's boy, which was the basic definition of innocent guys. She pitied him because from now on, she didn't think anything was going to be innocent near him. He was in a car with to guilty criminals, after all. She learned he was in the swim team, which suited, because he had the body of a swimmer. She learned his birthday was nine days later, that he could vanish for days, that he was dyslexic like her, that he knew Greek like her.

But except for the Dyslexia and Greek, the one thing common about them was their father. Alive but unresponsive. She knew about that – how it felt.

About an hour later, Percy was laying on the floor with his eyes closed.

"Is he asleep?" Piper asked.

Annabeth examined him for a moment before answering, "No,"

Piper went on driving and Percy opened his eyes. The glimmer in them was already fading. He was bound and gagged and in a small space. The guy would have had nightmares about this and now, he was living it through. She knew he wanted to rest and sleep but she also knew that he couldn't. Even with her phobia, if there was a small spider in some corner, she couldn't close her eyes without feeling like her heart was erupting, forget sleeping. But he had to had courage to actually close his eyes.

"What?" She asked him, for he was still staring at her. Instead of answering – shaking his head or doing stupid motions – he closed his eyes again and flopped his head. Immediately, she heard a sharp intake from him as he entered the nightmare world.

Annabeth mentally sighed and spread her legs, so that they were near Percy's head. He opened his eyes to witness the change before closing them.

"Do the police know?" Piper asked. Annabeth checked her phone – untraceable, Leo – best mechanic, made phone for updates and inner information about the police. Clarisse La Rue and Chris Rodriguez were their gang spies in the police. There weren't any updates from them.

"No," Annabeth said, "Not yet. But it's too early to judge. We'll see after about five hours."

"And if they don't? What are we going to do with him?" Annabeth eyed Percy. To be honest, she did not know.

"If they don't, well, we'll see if he can land us a few deals and if not – he knows enough about us, doesn't he? We can't have that." Annabeth said and she regretted bringing Percy as a hostage. Really, if the police didn't know anything, the only other thing she could do was try selling him to Drew Tanaka, one of the leaders of the gang they owe to. Drew Tanaka earned a lot because most of the allies were prostitutes and involved in vulgar things. As they say, body sells best.

Annabeth hoped she could give Percy some other treatment – selling him to Drew was completely evil. But Annabeth was a doer of evil.

And she knew not to hope.

The sun had set when Annabeth got the notification.

In the previous hours, she had spent her time by messing with Percy's phone. He was a swimmer, all right. She saw numerous pictures of him shirtless (Not what you think!) with golden cups and winner banners and his swim team. He was the captain, no doubt. There were pictures with his mom – mostly baking or travelling in a park. There were some funny selfies with a girl with dark hair and green eyes, probably his girlfriend?

So, he was in a relationship. The thought made her feel uncomfortable – first she felt bad for his girlfriend because she had kidnapped him and then, she felt good for exactly the same reason. But what caught her eye was numerous texts all congratulating him for his success. Annabeth did not understand this until she saw a picture of a newspaper article. There was a photo of him shirtless in his speedos. He was holding a giant golden cup and his neck was decorated with numerous medals. He was holding his cup for someone in the audience to see. It was a side picture and he was looking at someone. His sea-green eyes were sparkling brighter than emeralds and his white smile was blinding.

' **RECORD FOR EIGHTH FASTEST UNDER 20 FREESTYLE SWIMMER SET BY 16-YEARS OLD WITHOUT PROFESSIONAL TRAINING. UNDER SERIOUS CONSIDERATION TO PARTICIPATE IN OLYMPICS,'** Read the highlighted parts of the article. She looked at the boy beneath her and for a second, she experienced a surge, a wave, a _tsunami_ of her most hated emotion – _guilt_. She wished that she had picked anybody except him, anybody for being hostage. She was breaking dreams, right here and she knew how that felt. She had wanted to be an architect and here was she robbing banks and kidnapping a sixteen-year-old who could have participated in the Olympics and earned money and took care of his mom. How she hated herself!

She hated it when people weren't given a chance to follow their dreams. She wasn't given a chance. And now, she was breaking someone else's dreams. After many years, she felt like she could break down. After many years, she wanted to cry upon someone's shoulders. After many years, the pain broke in through her walls and she realized how much did she want to be an architect. Build dreams. Build permanent things. Not destroy things.

Then, the notification arrived.

Annabeth checked it. It was by Clarisse.

 _ **NO CODE RED. PERIODS! DON'T KNOW. THINK THE GOLDEN BIRD WAS STOLEN BY X. SEARCH STREET BEGGARS WHO DISAPPEARED OVER DAY.**_

Annabeth didn't feel as relieved as she usually would because she had taken a useless hostage.

"Piper," She said, "They don't suspect us. Take us to Drew's."

"Ouch," Piper said, "What to do with him, now?"

Annabeth swallowed. That was what she was thinking, "We'll see."

She should probably explain the message. Code Red was … well, code red. Periods! were police because they bothered as much. The golden bird was money and X was unknown, meaning the police doesn't know. 'Search' meant that the police suspected street beggars who disappeared over day. The truth was, as guilty, Annabeth felt, while exiting the bank, she had noticed a few niches in the walls of the other buildings and while Percy had his eyes closed, she'd inserted some cash into those niches where beggars kept their things to give the police a false lead.

That was how she did business.

But even her rigorous mind wasn't sure what to do with Percy, now that they did not need a hostage to blackmail the police.

When the car stopped, Annabeth was praying to heavens that things would go all right.

"We're here," Piper announced. 'Here' referred to street in the countryside with many houses. All of these houses looked rich – with pools, modern window panes and some gardens and fountains. Annabeth checked her gun – just in case and put her dagger in her scabbard.

Percy opened his eyes and looked curiously at Annabeth. He seemed worst for the wear. He was sweaty and his eyes looked dark and tired. But she knew that Drew judged people in their worst forms to see their true intentions.

Piper opened the back door and Annabeth jumped out.

"Gather the money for Drew," She ordered Piper and Piper got to work, while Annabeth lifted the back seats and Percy visibly relaxed.

"Don't feel good. I'm not opening your bonds. Now get up," She ordered and he pushed with his legs to roll and swing his legs over the entrance. He had a good physique, no doubt. But then he ruined it by trying to hump, stumbling and falling face-first to the ground. She winced as he groaned and rolled. With a push of his legs, he stood up.

"You're pathetic," She said. He barely heard her though. His face was dirty so Annabeth opened his gag to wipe his face with a wet-wipe and he cursed like a sailor. His lips were bleeding. Annabeth opened his hand bonds and placed his hands in front of him to tie it.

"Why do you tie it up?" He whispered, lowly. Annabeth looked up at him.

"So, you don't hit me and run away. And tell the police," She replied, still working on the ropes.

"First, I'm a gentleman. I don't _hit_ people. Second," He looked around, "This is a countryside filled with gangs. I might be safer with you. And third, I won't tell the police. Don't really want to get involved with investigation and all."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and finished tying up the ropes, "First, you're a nutjob. You should learn to live rough. Second, you're forgetting I am a gang leader, too. I can't assure you safety. Third, you're an idiot."

"You're a gang leader?" He asked and she nodded, "But you made me drink water, let me call my mom and wiped my face. That's a sign of niceness!"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Only because I pity what comes next for you."

He raised an eyebrow, "I'm here to sell you."

"What!"

"Accept the truth," She said, "The police aren't after us. So, we don't need a hostage. What am I supposed to do?"

"So, you brought me here, ruined my life and you don't even know what to do with me!?" He looked bewildered.

"Yeah. That sums it up."

Percy opened his mouth to speak something but then, at a lack of words, closed his mouth. He did not look at her after that. His eyes were fixed on the ground, which made Annabeth feel like she should say something to him. But Annabeth didn't know what. And she didn't know why she wanted to speak something.

"Done!" Piper said, a little too enthusiastically, "We got the money, let's go."

Annabeth and Piper walked on either side of Percy. Annabeth had the pouch of money. Percy kept his silence and so did both of them. Nobody said anything. Annabeth and Piper knew how many spies Drew's gang, the 'Aphrodi' had. And as soon as they entered the street, people looked down over from houses. Annabeth bent down and traced her fingers over the silver string that they had stepped on.

Suddenly, there was a flash of movement to her left. Annabeth instinctively found her hand on her dagger but forced the need to put it down. She did not want to show a weapon while entering into the Aphrodi's base. The movement was made by a blond-haired guy with blue eyes and a scar that ran down his face.

"Who are you – Oh, Annabeth," The blond said. Luke, the guardian of the Aphrodi. She knew him as well as she knew herself. But nobody except two other people knew of their relationship.

"Luke," She addressed him formally because he was working for his gang, now and she was working for hers, "Olympians come with a peace offering. And the complete debt." She eyed him.

He nodded, "You want to see Drew."

"We made the deal with her, so yes," She replied.

"Follow me," Luke commanded.

As Annabeth walked down the streets, heads turned to glance at them. It was a known fact that Olympus and Aphrodi weren't on good terms. The Aphrodis ( **A/N – pronounced Afro-d-ees** ) valued money, numbers and power. The Olympians valued freedom, small numbers and rebellion but what was common in them was that they both were organized groups that wanted the best for its members.

"We're here," They had arrived in the grandest house, yet, where the important leaders like Luke and Drew lived. It was a big mansion type-house with three storeys. They were standing in the garden with a fountain with Aphrodi's symbol – a chained angel, with long, beautiful hair. The thing about the statue was you couldn't tell if it was a male or a female.

"Do you want to come in?" Luke asked. Annabeth shook her head.

"We'll wait outside. Call Drew," Annabeth said and Luke disappeared inside the giant building.

"The building," Percy said, "It's magnificent. Don't the police know of it?"

"You won't believe how much power Aphrodi has. They're all a society. They bought the land and legally own it. They earn a lot through prostitution and those kinds of jobs but they don't have as many contacts as us."

"Contacts?"

"Contacts. They don't step out much. They're a 'sit back and rule' type gang. They depend on our gang for contacts. We have contacts – people out in the world in different fields. How else do you think we get information and notifications? We're a hit and run gang. We step out and carve our place." Annabeth said. She realized that she had almost slipped into her welcoming speech for new members but the thing was that as one was patriotic towards one's country, Annabeth had certain feelings of pride concerning her gang. They had risen from dust and carved their space. She was proud of it.

"Uh-huh," It was all Percy said and Annabeth didn't get to judge his expression because Drew Tanaka stepped out. She was wearing a pair of black shorts, a white flowy type top and thigh-length boots. Her dark curly hair was open for the world to see. Her brown eyes were ringed by pink eyeliner. A girl with black hair and eyes and olive skin was with her, wearing a black dress with a green jacket. Bianca di Angelo, a brave top-line fighter. She was friendly to all gangs – not an information giver but just there.

"Annabeth Chase and Piper McLean. The Olympians are welcomed!" Drew announced as a matter of formality. From the corner of her eye, Annabeth watched Luke head back towards the street – after all, he was a guardian.

"Drew Tanaka, Bianca di Angelo," Annabeth regarded them, mocking formality. She knew exactly how welcomed the Olympians were. She bit back her thoughts and instead, held up the money bag.

"The exact debt," She announced, "And a little more, but of course, that is just a _gesture of friendship_." Ironically, the debt she was paying now was just a _gesture of friendship_ handed by the Aphrodis too.

"Honourable," Drew replied, "Impressive."

Annabeth wanted to cut Drew around the eye where her eyeliner was applied so it could be a read mixed with pink. But she knew, hatred wasn't the way to go.

"Thank you," She said, "I would ask you to return what was ours, now. The weapons." Annabeth tried to keep her voice cordial and official at the same time. Piper was giving her best smile while Percy looked extremely bewildered. He probably did not understand what was going on. Everyone else did. There was a reason why Jason and Connor were injured and why Leo was building more weapons. Jason and Connor had a slip-up with some of Aphrodi's cronies the previous day, regarding how Olympus hadn't paid the debt. The two gangs often supplied each other but sometimes, tension increased and the cronies had stolen all the weapons Jason and Connor were escorting to sell. So, Annabeth had made the decision to get money by stealing. She hadn't expected Percy to be involved in all this.

"Oh, that," Drew said and Bianca went inside the mansion to get the weapons, "While, di Angelo gets that, who's the sweetie over there?"

Percy looked absolutely bewildered to be called 'sweetie' and so, Annabeth kicked the back of his knee and he fell to the floor.

"Consider him an offer," Annabeth started, "You take him and give us all the weapons back? How about that?"

Drew laughed but she sounded nervous because she was alone, "Oh, Annabeth. You really think of everything, don't you? He's tempting but you know my way."

Annabeth felt a bitter taste in her mouth. In hand to hand combat, Drew would never win. Everyone was scared of her, she knew that but things became a lot more difficult when you added the gangs and formalities and customs on their back. With all of these things, Drew gained power. And Annabeth knew her way. She just didn't like it. 'What is pretty is pretty when it breaks,' that was Drew's point of view and while, that might sound quite reasonable to people, you didn't know the extents Drew could go through to 'break' people. Annabeth could go to further extents but she didn't. Drew could.

Annabeth didn't want her to break Percy.

 _But she had to put her gang first._

She did not want to see his pretty smile fade and the innocence crumble.

 _But she had to._

"I do," She said and stepped back. Piper looked at her and then, at Percy worriedly before doing the same. Percy looked at them confusedly.

"What…?" He asked but when, Drew stepped forward near him, he said, "Oh."

Annabeth closed her eyes as she heard the bitterness in his voice. She knew what Drew was going to do and that was awful but the fact that Percy knew what was happening here was a hundred times more awful. Even though, Annabeth had known Percy for one day, she wanted to … preserve him and that scared her. When she was an innocent kid, Luke had wanted to 'preserve' her. Look where it had landed her.

"Now, honey," Drew said, as she took out her gun from her holster, "This is how the Aphrodi functions."

Drew flicked the safety off. And then, she fired.

 _Silence._

The gunshot wasn't heard because the silencer was on and Percy did not scream or shout.

But the silence was more deafening than anything she had ever faced. It screamed loud in her ear and she found herself going deaf momentarily. That was how it felt every time when a bullet was fired and silence ensured. Just then, Bianca reappeared rather chirpily.

"Here are the weapons that you ordered – oh," She fell silent as she took in the scene and soon, the air was filled with Percy's panting. Annabeth closed her eyes, relieved that he wasn't dead and then, angry. She couldn't kill someone without feeling horrible.

Slowly, Annabeth took some steps towards him. He was on his knees on the floor, leaning slightly more to his left. She stepped around to see him. His eyes were closed and he was sweating. The bullet had hit his right arm. It looked pretty deep and was most probably, very painful.

"Gods…" She whispered, "Are – are you fine?"

He kept on panting.

"Come on, Annabeth," Drew whined, "You know my ways. Get back or I'll shoot you."

Annabeth was about to bite back a comment when, in a spare moment, she realized something. First, she was in a rival gang's territory. Second, at the moment, her weapons were in her holster. Third, her gang was currently weaker than Aphrodi – no matter how much resistance she'd serve to that sentence, it was true. If Piper were there, instead of Drew, she'd shoot Annabeth. (Annabeth wouldn't take the risk. She'll get some information out of Drew, first.)

Annabeth turned out to be right, like always. Drew pulled the trigger back and released it. There wasn't any sound but the puff of air that flew forcefully towards her was loud. Annabeth realized from her position that the bullet would hit her heart. Her last thoughts were going to be: 'I was stupid.'

The impact never came.

* * *

 **So, first chapter from Annabeth's POV. I think I'll be doing a two Percy chapters and two Annabeth chapters of the story. Not really sure, well.**

 **You can go to my profile for sneak-peaks and update info. This wasn't a Tuesday update.**

 **Now, I had two major things to talk about:**

 **1\. I'm not finding enough characters to be in some gangs, so I want my dear readers to apply themselves as characters or make imaginary characters.**

 **Just fill the form:-**

 ** _For the Gang 'Wolves'_**

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 **Basic History:**

 _ **For the Gang 'Red Walls,'**_

 **Criminal name and real Name:**

 **Age:**

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 **Criminal personality and real personality:**

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 **Thanks!**

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 **Love,**

 **InnovativeIvia**


	4. It's my Final Decision

**Hello, readers. This is the fourth chapter.**

 **'It's my final decision.'**

 **I got some entries for characters in the last chapter but I want more.**

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 **So here we go-**

* * *

The _impact never came._

There was a jagged scream, the voice breaking, followed by a thud as someone fell to the floor. Annabeth didn't understand what was happening. She did not understand whose scream she had heard. She did not know why the bullet hadn't hit her.

Until she did. And when, she realised what was happening, she wished she didn't. The truth wasn't pretty.

Lying on the floor, blood staining his shirt was her saviour. He also, coincidentally happened to be the person whom she had taken hostage. It was Percy.

Suddenly, her heart beats quickened. Her chest puffed and swelled and the world seemed to be muffled. Nothing existed except for the beat of her heart – the beats that she wished didn't exist. The numbness and emptiness in her heart was like a half-full glass. Full enough to not be thirsty but empty enough to make her pain and want for more. She was breathing but she was barely alive, because it was the first time, Annabeth Chase had stood on the safe line. Now, Annabeth had taken numerous bullets for her peers on numerous occasions but it was the first time, she had had someone take a bullet for her. The pain was worse than the pain of all the bullets she had ever taken.

The guilt _ached_ and it _pained_ and it _freaking_ hurt.

"Oh – well, that's new," Drew commented and suddenly, it seemed as if the atmosphere that had been holding back the air burst in. The sound returned and Annabeth's focus returned. Her eyes focused on Drew and she didn't need a mirror to know how dangerous she looked.

"Were you -" She sighed in disbelief and gave a short laugh, like a bark, "Were you trying to shoot me?"

Drew gave that annoying smile – the plastic smile that made her want to cut out her tongue, "Maybe?"

Annabeth shook her head once. And then, again.

"You – you little," Annabeth gave her best curses, starting from the 'F' words, "Did you think you could shoot me? Is this a sign of war? Are you trying to fight Olympus? Are you!?" Annabeth lost it and she shouted and shouted until, Piper stopped her.

She was on the floor, holding Percy by the shoulders, "Annabeth – he is losing blood. Whatever we do, we have to do it fast."

Annabeth felt tears prickling in the corner of her eyes. She wanted to shout and shout and hit and kill. She wasn't in the mood to deal with the fragility of life. She wished she was invincible. She wished that actions did not have dire consequences. She wished that a bullet could not kill because, she could have freaking killed Drew right now. Her arms were shaking so, she mentally cursed at them.

She gave Bianca a look, who had an eye talk with Drew. Then Bianca stepped forward, carrying a little cart. But Annabeth knew something was wrong when she saw the look behind Bianca's dark eyes. Bianca was scared.

"Here," She said softly and Annabeth did a quick count of the weapons and she felt like cursing all over again, "What the – "

She took a deep breath. Percy was still in Piper's arms who was defenceless. She couldn't stand anyone hurting him further.

"Honestly, Drew. Is – is this, this _joke_ , the pride and honour of Aphrodi. You dare give me only half of what you stole!" She shouted, losing her calm.

"Well, firstly, I did not steal it. Your rogues got in a fight with my men. You should better keep them under watch," Drew replied, "And Annabeth Chase, don't you dare forget where you stand currently! My men could kill you and stash your body in a well and nobody would know."

The pressure in the air increased. Annabeth willed herself to stop fighting.

"Well, anyway. Where's the rest of it?" Annabeth asked.

"You see," Drew replied and her plastic smile was on, "This deal doesn't hold any value to me. Money in exchange of weapons, I mean, especially when I could have anything I want." Drew eyed Percy and Annabeth felt her blood boil but she forced herself to realize that she had brought Percy here to sell him.

"Do you want to buy him?" Ananbeth asked.

Drew wrinkled her nose, "No, he's too loyal. I fear loyal people. You can't push them away but you don't want to pull them in. I don't want him – I just want satisfaction. Step back, McLean."

Piper growled, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you brought him here. Let me see if he's worth."

"Haven't you seen enough?"

"I'd be careful if I were you," Drew warned.

"Gods forbid. I don't want my name ruined," Piper retorted. Annabeth took this as an entrance. She didn't want Percy to give Drew satisfaction – whatever that meant. But Piper was her best-friend. She couldn't get hurt. When Annabeth stepped around Percy, she felt an annoying sting in her eyes and her chest seemed to weight down. Percy took the bullet, right above his abs towards the right. His blue button-up shirt was soaking in dark red liquid. Annabeth knelt next to him. Surprisingly, his green eyes opened when he saw her.

"Why'd you take the bullet?" She asked. Percy stared at her but his eyes were distant, as if he was seeing a million things in her face that she couldn't see.

"I'm a gentleman," He said and his eyes closed briefly, "It felt right."

"Yeah, did it?" Annabeth's voice was bitter now. This guy, "Tell me honestly, how much do you regret it? How much do you hate me and it all now?"

Her eyes watered when he said, "I don't. I don't regret this, regret this or hate you. No, I just don't like the, the circumstances." He breathed. She wanted to hug him, tell him she was sorry but she realized she wasn't being like herself so, when Drew asked her to step back, she dragged Piper away and stood at a place whence she could see both Percy and Drew clearly.

"Now, listen," Drew started, "Now, honey, if you stand up and keep standing until I'm done with you – I swear I'll give them half of what they need."

Annabeth cursed, "Drew, he's human. Talk sense. Do you think someone can stand up after getting hit by two bullets…?" She trailed off, when she saw Percy getting on his fours and standing up, with a lot of grunting. When Percy finally stood up, he doubled over in pain and his head drooped but he caught himself right before, he was about to fall and stood up straight, grunting and groaning a lot.

Annabeth hated to watch this and not only, because it was exasperatingly pathetic but because, she was responsible for this. It was her fault. Right now, he should be having dinner with his mom, hanging out with his girlfriend and practising his swimming but no, he was being shot by a gun two times, taken in chains when he as afraid of them and fed nothing. She hated it.

"Now, now, hon'. You're really strong. Just don't fall, 'kay?" Drew gave the plastic smile and walked towards Percy. Piper gripped her arm while, Annabeth cursed. What was Drew going to do?

Annabeth wished she hadn't asked. Drew took her fingers – those long nails – and brushed it against the skin where the second bullet had hit. Percy took a sharp intake of breath and Annabeth was about to stop this when she realized – _she had absolutely no power_.

"Does it hurt, hon'?" Drew asked, sweetly brushing her other hand along Percy's cheek. Annabeth wanted to bite her hand off but, she stayed silent. It hurt to watch someone like that – so dizzy and so weak.

Suddenly, there was a loud gasp from Percy and as Annabeth watched, she realized why. Drew finger nails were digging around the area of the wound. Annabeth wished she could shut her eyes and forget this. Percy's pain was too visible in his eyes. And she could see he was at his limit. His knees buckled and she thought he was going to cry. But instead, his eyes hardened all of a sudden. The sea green beauty scared her. It was like the ocean was storming and the sky thundering behind those miniscule eyeballs. His lazy wavy hair suddenly looked scarier and his lips turned downward. He stood up straight.

Annabeth looked at Piper, just to check whether she hadn't imagined that but, Piper's jaw was literally hanging out. Drew on the other hand, showed a glimpse of fear. It was clear in her eyes and Annabeth realized Percy was a _that_ type of hurting – the brooding, silent, scary type. She didn't know what to make of it. It was a kind of paradox. It worried her. She had always been told that the reality of a person hid in his or her darkest moments. And now that she saw the person who she had believed to be innocent and loving reveal that, she just felt like her whole world was twisting like a boomerang, fading in and out of sense.

"Well, honey. Aren't you brave?" Drew said and dug in more. Percy didn't react and she stepped back.

"Done, are you?" Piper asked Drew, who snarled at her.

"Well, sister. Yeah, I'm done. Bianca, get them the weapons!" Drew barked and Annabeth should probably stop and mention at this point that Drew and Piper were half-sisters, from their mother's side. The only thing common about them was that they were both pretty but that's where the similarities stopped. Piper was a lot more humane than Drew.

Annabeth hated herself for what she was going to do next, "Drew. Do you want to buy him or not?"

Drew picked at her hair, "I'm not buying him but you can keep him for, ah, favours."

Annabeth tried not to frown and yank out Drew's pretty curls from her hair and throw her into a slicer. Instead, she focused on Percy who was clutching his shirt where the bullet had hit him. Now that Drew wasn't on to him, his eyes were closed shut and while he still had the hard lines deep around his face, Annabeth felt that with closed eyes, he looked much normal. His sea-green eyes were too emotional and so powerfully expressing that Annabeth felt like once, she started watching them, she would get lost in their infinite depth.

Annabeth gave Piper a look, when Bianca returned with the weapons and Piper collected them. Her expression was that of disgust, when she found that still, a quarter of the weapons remained with Aphrodi. Annabeth had expected this, of course.

"We'll be leaving," She announced and after giving Drew an absolute look of loathing, she untied Percy's hands and supported him. Piper took his other arm and together, they walked out.

When they reached the car, Annabeth fit Percy in the middle. He was almost out and Annabeth's breathe started to race. Even though, he as a hostage and she was a criminal, it did not mean that she did not contain compassion and she was touched by him taking a bullet for her. While that action might seem cheesy, when you live rough, you have to do it numerous times and Annabeth had done it many times as an act of friendship, teamwork, humanity, sisterhood and kindness. It felt like her heart had been flipped when someone else did it for her.

She did not realize that she was crying until, a drop of tear splashed on Percy's cheek. His eyes fluttered open at that but Annabeth was so flustered that she put her hands over his eyes.

"Sweat," She muttered and continued fitting his legs in the middle seat. Piper was watching her with a fixated look. When Annabeth turned to look at her, she smiled.

"It's been too long," Piper started, "Since I saw you worry so much about someone else."

"It's been too long," Annabeth replied, "Since I saw someone do something for me. Something good."

That shut her up.

When they were all settled, Piper started the car. Annabeth was sitting shotgun with Percy's phone. She was moving through his contacts, pictures and social accounts. Percy was apparently very popular at school. Annabeth snuck a side view at him. She'd expect him to be. He wasn't half-bad looking.

Annabeth had done a basic first-aid of hi injuries but she was eagerly waiting for home to arrive. Percy needed attention from Frank, one of their best healers.

In the way, it started to rain. Horribly. The wind was strong and the drops that fell were thick as if the sky was weeping in pain as it attended someone's funeral. Piper had to turn the window cleaners to their top speed. With the rain, Annabeth's heart sank even more. She looked back at Percy and her heart hurt more. She didn't know why. She had never been good at identifying emotions anyway. She always buried them. As far as she knew, she should be happy, she hadn't gotten hit by a bullet but whenever, she thought about that, pain filled her from top to bottom. She couldn't stop replaying the scene in her mind. Again. And again. And again. Like a reel of mental torture. It hurt her and it confused her when she didn't know why. That is why she hated feelings. You couldn't solve problems without knowing the problem but emotions had to be faced with no view or whatsoever of the problem. If she felt guilt, she would apologize. If she felt sad, she would eat chocolate and relax. If she felt lonely, she'd talk to someone but she couldn't categorize her emotions. She didn't know what she was feeling, if she was feeling or why she was feeling anything.

The undeniable pleasure that numbness gave had evaporated leaving behind a knot of complex, complicated, throbbing emotion all jumbling together and making her hurt like she never had. Hurt and pain.

It rained harder.

Annabeth opened her car door when she reached her gang home. Compared to Aphrodi's beautiful land, theirs was a giant house surrounded by smaller houses. That was all that there was to it. But she held it precious. She stepped out and the rain beat her down. She opened the middle door, woke Percy up from his painful slumber and dragged him out. He groaned and grunted in pain. When he stood in the hard rain, red liquid dripped off his body, dirtying the ground. His hair plastered to his forehead and his sea-green eyes seemed to have picked up a greyish tint. It seemed as if she was watching him through grey lenses. His skin, his dried blood, his hair, his eyes – everything seemed to have lost colour.

And it was her fault.

The complex jumble of feelings grew more prominent in her chest and her stomach starting aching. Annabeth stared at herself in the window of the car and she was surprised at what she saw. Her blonde hair hung loosely, damp around her. Her eyes were red and her face was awfully red, as if she had been crying, which she hadn't. Her lips were puffy and her shoulders was slumped.

' _No, I can't be like this_ ,' She told herself, ' _I'm a leader. I have to hold myself.'_

She tried smiling confidently in the mirror. It worked but her eyes remained nervous and sad. She wished she could control her eyes. She wished she could control her emotions. She wished she could freaking control herself.

She sighed and looked up. She found Percy looking at her, lost in her face. His lips were hanging open and his eyes were hopeless. His wet hair hung around his eyes as he stared down at her. If it would have been anybody else, she would have been afraid to show them how much she tried to hold herself but with Percy, it was different. Maybe, because he was already pushing himself to his limit.

"Hey, don't stare at what people don't want you to see, okay?" She said, her voice coming out weak. Percy nodded but apparently, the action was too much for him. He slumped against her, finally giving in to unconsciousness. Annabeth gulped and she wanted to cry but instead, she dragged him inside the main house with Piper's help.

The main house, 'The Plaza,' they called it, was three storeys tall – four if you count the attic. It was mostly wooden furnished with leather couches and cushions for everyone to sit. It had an infirmary in the ground floor, the weaponry in the basement and the attic, a dance room, a science room and a fireplace on the second place. She loved the house.

The emotions in her chest tightened as she saw Jason, with blonde hair and blue eyes, Connor and Travis, with brown curls, Katie, with dark hair and green eyes and Silena with blue eyes and dark hair all sitting around the couch on pillows, talking and laughing, drinking hot chocolate. In the corner, she saw Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang talking silently.

They all silenced when Annabeth entered dripping wet. Silena widened her eyes and brought her and Piper a towel each.

"Who's this?" She motioned to Percy.

"Frank," Annabeth commanded, "He's hurt. Take him to the infirmary."

Frank jumped to his feet in action and people started rushing. Hazel and Frank went with Percy to the infirmary. Travis and Connor collected the weapons from Pier while Jason gave her a hug. Katie demanded what happened while, Silena did 'Oh, gods. Oh gods, Annabeth, you weren't hurt, right?' only about a hundred times as Annabeth launched into the story. While Silena may come of as a mall girl type, she was actually the fastest of them, whether it be in car driving, biking or horse riding. Silena was the definition of speed (That's by she speed-talked so much about fashion). Silena was also Piper's (and Drew's) half-sister. (Their mom was busy).

When Annabeth finished, Katie kicked the coffee table, "Those Aphrodis. Glitter and plastic. I want to kill them."

Silena winced, probably because Katie was so loud.

"But what about the boy – Percy?" Jason asked.

"What about him?" Annabeth tilted her head.

"I mean, what are we going to do with him. He took a bullet for you. Would he join the gang, since he's not a hostage?" Jason crinkled his eyebrows.

"Who said he's not a hostage? We'll see what 'favours' we can get out of Aphrodi with his help," She replied.

"Annabeth!" Katie said loudly, "Are we going to resort to listening to the nonsense of Aphrodis? Why!?"

Annabeth gave her a look, "I'm not stupid enough to declare war."

"But-"

"It's not like we're listening to them. We aren't under their control and we and that guy, Percy made it clear enough today to Drew. She as scared of him." Annabeth said darkly. Katie still looked dissatisfied but she did not say anything. Wise choice.

"Well, that's fine. So, he is an Olympian, now?" Travis asked.

"No."

"What?"

"I said no. Percy will not join our gang."

"Why? You said Drew was afraid of him," Jason pointed out.

"That's why," Annabeth replied, "We have to push Drew to her limit. And he won't be joining us. He's not a gangster. And that," She said when they started protesting, "Is my final decision. We'll keep him bound in the attic."

Annabeth stood up and left the room.

' _Because, Percy,'_ she thought, _'I am kind. Let me repay you by not letting you become a gangster. Let me give you hope for a chance at a normal life._ '

But then, the emotions relived when she realized she was leading him on, tantalizing him with false hope. She knew if they were caught, if Percy was saved, he wouldn't have any criminal charges placed upon him and could live his dream. But she also knew that, his dream coming true would be the destruction of Olympus.

She didn't know what she wanted anymore.

So, as the much-awaited numbness finally washed over her, she thought, ' _It's my final decision.'_

* * *

 **So, this was your Tuesday update. I actually wrote this! I am proud. So, next chapter in Percy's pov. Any idea what's going to happen. If anyone is interested in cover-making or banner-making, do make one for me. I'll enjoy it.**

 **One more form if you are interested for a gang.**

 ** _Ghost Kings_**

 **Name (something like Dark, or shadow or whatever):**

 **Real Name:**

 **Age:**

 **Grey, white or black:**

 **Personality:**

 **Appearance:**

 **That would be all. Thanks.**

 **Net update Tue/Wed unless I'm inspired.**

 **Love,**

 **InnovativeIvia. I love you guys so much, I want to write lengthy thank you messages to each of you, and if I shall wake up early (DOn't think i would, since people who sleep at 4 AM don't wake up early), I'd write you many messages.**


	5. His Senses Exploded

**Hello,**

 **It is I with another chapter - His Senses Exploded. Not really happy with this one (Not as much action as I would have likes) but well, I can't have Percy not reacting to being shot. I'm not Rick (I don't send characters to Tartarus and don't ever talk about them again.)**

 **I was really glad because of the character forms but it's not enough, especially for 'Red Walls' and 'Ghost Kings,' since those are mostly OCs. If you want to be evil, you can join Red Walls - you'll be rich, psychotic, hot, scary and cool.**

 **Although, really thankful to all those people who commented/reviewed/favourited my story.**

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 **Thanks to all those people who commented. Surprise in for PERCABETH readers.**

* * *

 _Drip of blood. Clang of shackles. Sound of groans._

He shook his head. _No, snap out of it_ , he told himself.

 _Whispering sounds in his head_ , 'Tie him up.' _Hissing of air as the bullet fastened towards him._

It hurt, so bad. His chest was on fire.

 _Pain, digging into his skin as her nails dug into him. '_ Stop _' he wanted to scream but he didn't. He couldn't._

 _He was burning up. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. He was trapped._

 _Drowning…_

 _Drowning…_

 _Drowning…_

His eyes flew open but he couldn't quite figure out anything. His head was a jumble. Voices whispered his name – Annabeth and his mom, figures flew in and out – Piper, the pregnant lady, Bianca. Images flew into his mind as if someone was scrolling quickly through his mental gallery – Drew, the gun shot, the money, the weapons, Annabeth crying slightly, the car – everything.

His head was spinning. He was drowning…

' _No!'_ He mentally screamed, ' _You can't! You aren't in water_!"

It was a pathetic thing to hate and love the two sides of the same coin. He loved swimming. He had a fear of suffocating or drowning. It was his life, he guessed. His life to love on side and hate one side of the same coin, the same topic.

Percy closed his eyes, not that it would help. The mental trauma returned but at least with closed eyes, he felt more in control, like he was meditating or something. When Percy opened his eyes again, he felt more or less like himself but the thing was he wasn't sure anymore what he was like. He scanned the room.

He was in an attic. He got that much.

The whole attic was wooden furnished. He was shackled to one of the three pillars that spread around the attic. There was a large window on both sides but both were closed, draped upon by those plastic sheets that are used to cover cars. There was a lot of stuff, here. There were many marked boxes with signs like 'Long-range guns,' 'Handguns', 'Knifes,' in one corner. Not really Percy's preference. The good thing was that these weapons were far from him. Below one window, there was a workshop-study table (or something like that. Percy didn't really know) with many scrolls and things like that. There was also a canvas thing. Now what was it called? Isle? Aisle? No, easel. Yep, easel was there. The pages were all empty.

The room was dimly lit by a lantern candle on the table, which was flickering out, slowly dying.

Percy sighed and focused on himself. His hands were loosely shackled to the wood pillar. Enough that he couldn't move his hands back and somehow open the shackles but loose enough so that he could cross his arms in the front. Percy looked at his dress, surprised to find him wearing a different shirt – black button up and black jeans. Hopefully, a girl didn't change him… He tried not to think about that and instead, focused on his arm injury. The bullet wound was neatly bandaged and it did not even hurt. That was a relief. He lifted his shirt with one hand to glance at his other wound. This one was neatly bandaged too but when Percy tried touching it, it hurt, which made him wince.

At that point, Percy heard voices outside. He let go of his shirt and lay his head back, pretending to be out. The door opened and a chirpy female voice sounded, not Annabeth or Piper. One part of him wondered if all the gangsters were girls. Well, that made sense, he guessed. Even in his school, there were some girls that were so evil that he was sure that they belonged to some gang. Just take Nancy Bobofit for example. The redheaded, freckled girl was as ugly as annoying and evil.

"Oh, please," The girl said, "I won't wake him up."

From the light that was shining in Percy's closed eyes, he guessed that the door was open and she was talking to her friend. Or whoever. Another voice sounded, which Percy couldn't make out and the door was shut.

Percy heard the girl sigh, "Honestly, these people…" Then, there was some moment. He heard her footsteps getting closer and his body involuntarily tensed.

"Oh, come on now, I know you're awake," The voice was very near and as Percy opened his eyes, he found a startling pair of green eyes studying his sea-green ones.

Percy leaped back but there was no space to go 'back,' so he hit his head on the wooden post that he was tied on to. He yelped as the force registered. He lowered his head and closed his eyes, trying to supress the pain.

"Gods, are you alright?" Percy heard the girl said. He didn't reply.

Just then, Percy felt someone massaging his hair – the green eyes girl. It was really peaceful and comforting and Percy liked the way her hands brushed through his strands, massaging his scalp. Slowly the pain faded.

Percy opened his eyes and coughed. It was barely heard through his gag. The girl must have noticed because she opened his gag.

"Better?" She asked.

He nodded, "Yeah."

Only when she backed a little, Percy realized that the girl had red frizzy hair and freckles, much like someone else Percy knew. Redheaded freckles was still staring at him, contemplating him in a way that was completely different to Annabeth's gaze upon him. While Annabeth looked at him as if she was calculating his weak and strong points and stamina and strength, this redheaded girl stared at him as if he was a piece of art – a completely abstract matter that she was trying to make sense of.

He coughed again, "I'm Percy."

"Yeah, I heard your story. You really have pretty eyes," She replied and Percy felt himself blush. Honestly, too many people were referring to him ad 'pretty eyes.' He felt insecure. (Hopefully, they weren't going to gauge his eyes out but they were gangsters, you never know).

"And," The girl continued, "You're cute. I'm Rachel."

"Oh, um, hi," He said awkwardly, doing a little wave type thing. Rachel snorted and his waving hand fell back into its place.

"And you're darkish, apparently. But yeah, anyway, hi," She smiled at him and did the wave thing that he did. Percy snorted this time, just to mock her.

Percy and Rachel became instant buddies. She stayed there for a long time. The easel belonged to her. Whilst, they talked, Rachel drew a picture. He couldn't see from his point of view but Rachel promised to show him when it was done.

"I have loved painting, since I was young. I am very artistic, you see," Percy could see. Her jeans and white T-shirt was splattered upon by paint, "I also like reading. I like art – of any kind. What about you?"

"Well," Percy shrugged, "I'm not really artistic but, I – um- like to swim."

She smiled as if she was hiding something, "I know that. When Annabeth told me about you, I was surprised that she caught you."

Percy didn't really understand and apparently, that was clear because Rachel continued.

"Annabeth told me you were a swimmer. With the eight-highest freestyle record. I recognized you," Rachel said.

"Wait. I didn't tell Annabeth all that."

"She had your phone."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Rachel said as she dipped her brush in the colour palette, "She is really smart, you know. She always is going on about finding things and information."

Percy didn't know how that made him feel. Strange, for some reason.

"But, anyway," Rachel said, "I've been to some of your swim meets. I study in Goode, too, you see."

Percy frowned, "You do? I have never seen you."

"That's because I'm in the art room, most often. And we're in different classes. And in lunch, I'm doing artistic stuff. You might have heard about me in the art club." She said.

Percy thought about it and the answer flew out of his mouth, "RED? The 'Art Queen.' The one who drew mostly everything in the 'Blood and Weapon' theme?"

"That's me. RED. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Did you like the theme?" Rachel said.

"So, you're – wow – and yeah," He said, "I did."

Rachel smiled. But Percy still felt like he was spinning through a vortex.

"But, wait, you're a gangster and you go to school?" He asked.

Rachel blew her hair out of her eyes, "I am not really a gangster. I'm more like you."

"A hostage?"

"Well, no. Not really. I kind of sponsor these people some times and get them contacts. Besides, they're all my friends." She said, "They're nice."

"Uh-huh," Percy said, pointing to his shackles, "Why do you sponsor them?"

Rachel sighed and turned away from her painting, "Now, Percy. Listen. I know bank robbery and gun shooting might seem extreme to you and it's against the law but besides that, they're all good people. Once they had a fight with child abusers and people who forced child labour. They do good stuff in a bad way. Universal compassion spread through fighting, instead of universal war spread through lack of compassion. It's a better way. And they help a lot in raising money, afforestation and those things. The guns are violent but they need protection. They aren't evil."

"I guess," Percy said, "But I had never been shot because of the law."

Rachel sighed and continued her painting. Percy thought that their friendship had been damaged but then, Rachel started again.

"And as for, gangsters going to school – that's pretty normal. There's this gang, Ghost Kings, where they have the Ghost King, Avenger, Shadow – those kinds of people with extreme quickness and fighting skills when in reality, most of them are fourteen years old, dorky guys who save cats from trees. Can you believe that?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No," Percy admitted.

"Exactly. But it's true. People don't just join gangs to spread mass destruction. This gang, Hunters, save women and children from abuse. People have reasons to join gangs, you see." Rachel said.

"What was your reason?" Percy said, immediately, "I don't suppose you joined it just because you knew them."

Rachel focused on her painting and he thought that she wouldn't answer but she did.

"I didn't want to tell you, but I have no reason not to," She said, "It's because of my father."

"Your father?"

"Yeah," Rachel said carefully, putting her brush down, "He's a business tycoon."

"So, you're rich?" Percy tried to hide it but his voice was full of emotion anyway – surprise, jealousy and irritation. Rachel blushed.

"I guess, but I don't really like it," She pointed to herself, tattered jeans, those banners and leaflets painted on her body, the plain-white shirt and the worn-down jacket; Rachel Dare didn't play rich, "My father damages nature. A lot. He's broken many schools, hospitals and cleared woods for expanding his business. I hate that."

Percy blinked at her sourness.

"I mean, my father's well, my father. And sometimes, we eat together. But we talk more deals than love. Like, 'You ace this class, I'll get you rights to this place for your art thing movement.' He doesn't really understand what I do," Rachel said.

Percy shook his head, "Neither do I."

"I guess you can call me an artist at heart. I raise money for the poor children interested in art. I do charity works, fundraisers, parties, art classes. Wherever I go, I paint the world a better place."

While all that sounded great to Percy, there was something bothering him, "What about all of this, then? Why don't you make this shed a better place?"

Rachel started to answer but just then, the door opened, letting in fierce bright light that made Percy see spots.

"Ugh, Rachel. You told me you wouldn't wake him up. Or talk to him. In any case." A familiar voice sounded; Annabeth.

"Did you really believe that?" Rachel asked, packing her art instruments.

"Well, no. That's why it isn't much of a surprise. Now, go," Slowly as the dark spots faded, Percy saw Annabeth's figure standing in the hallway. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing skinny jeans. That's all he could see.

Rachel started moving towards the door with her art brishes and what not, but then she turned towards him.

"Oh, and Percy. You asked me why I help Olympus, this gang. That's because they sabotage my father's work. They don't let him destroy anymore things for silver and gold plates." Rachel said, before walking through the door and disappearing.

"She told you that?" Annabeth asked.

Percy nodded. He didn't feel secure talking with Annabeth, even though he had taken a bullet for her – probably because her reaction wasn't as great as he was expecting. It wasn't an 'Oh my gods, this guy saved me! I would repay him with whatever he asks like IDK maybe let him go and live his life?' but more of a, 'Hell, why did he do that? Now, I can't throw him in the bin because then I'd look evil.'

Annabeth closed the door shut behind him. She stayed by the door for a second hearing for sounds before deciding that no one was trying to hear. She walked towards him and Percy felt scared. He realized how much 'colourful,' a person could be. Rachel had made this dark, cold room seem warm and bright whereas Annabeth made it colder and darker.

Her boots echoed against the wood as she walked. When she reached him, she sat on the floor, facing him.

"Listen," She breathed, "I am honoured by the fact that you became the first one to take a bullet for me but that was really unnecessary-" Percy winced, "And dare I say, stupid. But I guess you've that loyal and niceness thing in you, but now, you'll not take bullets for someone else. Got that?"

Percy nodded before asking, "But that means…so you're letting me out?" He asked hopefully.

"No," Annabeth's voice was flat, "But you're going to do business for us."

"Pardon?"

"I said you're going to help us. Drew wants you for, uh, 'friendly favours,' so you'll be busy with that." Annabeth said. SO many questions were swimming in Percy's brain like, 'Why?', 'Why help Drew,' 'When?' but he decided to start with the question 'what.'

"What do you mean by 'friendly favours'?" Percy asked carefully because it seemed like Annabeth was blushing a td bit. Scary girls blushing was like a warning of death.

She raised her eyebrows, "Are you teasing me?" Seeing his confused expression, she sighed, "Gods, you really don't know what I'm talking about?"

Percy shook his head, "I don't."

"You're sure you're a seventeen-year-old swimmer?" Annabeth asked.

"I'm sixteen, actually but yeah, I'm sure."

"Gods!" Annabeth buried her face into her hands, "But surely you have some romantic experience. You have a girlfriend, right? And from the looks of it, you aren't a virgin…" She trailed off.

The mental alert bell hit Percy's head right then, and he put his arms in a stop motion, "Wait, wait, wait – are we talking about my romantical life here?"

"Yeah,"

"Well, firstly, I don't have a romantical life. I don't have a girlfriend and I am a virgin." Percy said, blushing like a tomato but he thought that he should clear it up before something wrong happens.

Annabeth looked at him for a few seconds before saying, "You're kidding, right?"

Percy shook his head, "You're talking about virginity – and I haven't even had my first kiss."

" _What!"_

"Seriously,"

"Why?" Annabeth demanded, "Haven't you ever just practiced kissing with someone? Like, you know, normal people do."

"Our sense of normal is completely different. I've been saving my first kiss for someone special," Percy blushed at that, before realizing something, "Wait, though. Why are you asking me all this?"

"Because Drew wants to make out with you. We can get some money out of her if you're good enough. You certainly look the part – _Why haven't you_ kissed _before?"_ She asked _._

Percy felt a surge of hot wave emotions bubbling in his chest – a mixture of fury and the feeling of being lost. See, he had always been the 'special first and special last' time kid. He liked Disney – it always started with 'Once upon a time,' and ended with 'Happily ever after.' He'd always imagined his first kiss with someone that he'd end up with, forever and together in love.

He'd never imagined this.

"Oh, I don't know," Percy replied to Annabeth, "Probably because I did not expect to be kidnapped and forced to have a romantic session with a girl that shot me. _Twice_."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "She promised not to get her hands under your pants. That's the best. You just have to learn to kiss."

He'd never thought his fist kiss would be a girl who applied pink eyeliner. He'd never thought his first, special kiss would be gang leader. Slowly, tears filled his eyes. That was him – he didn't cry when he was being shot but he cried when his first kiss was being stolen away by a gangster.

"Hey, are you crying?" She asked. Percy shook his head, _of course_ , " _Gods_ , Percy. Just don't start crying with _her_. Hopefully, you're a good kisser. I can't believe you've never kissed."

He didn't listen as Annabeth spoke some more. His sense nullified, and the sound was muffled. The chains and the closed room came into focus and it was just, just too much. He was drowning again.

Numb.

Numb.

Numb.

He barely heard as Annabeth said, "Well, let's practice."

Then, before a word, before a warning, before any sort of freaking signal, she leaned in, her hands circling around his neck, tight. And she crashed her lips to his.

His senses exploded.

* * *

 **Phew!**

 **Done. Next chapter - Tuesday/ Wednesday or before that if I feel blessed.**

 **All the forms can be found in my profile but here you go - (Please, select one gang - don't same person in different gang things. Or if you're submitting more than one entries of different people - like one you as a cuddly panda and the other as a killing machine, use two forms) Thanks! Be interesting. Also feel free to write your fav character names if you want to interact with them in my story.**

 **ALL GANG FORMS!**

 **WOLVES**

 _NAME:_

 _AGE:_

 _BASIC APPEARANCE DESCRIPTION:_

 _PERSONALITY:_

 _FLAWS:_

 _SECRETS:_

 _BASIC HISTORY:_

TALENTS/ JOB:

 **RED WALLS**

CRIMINAL NAME:

REAL NAME:

CRMINAL PERSONALITY:

REAL PERSONALITY (COULD BE CRIMINAL PERSONALITY);

CRIMINAL APPEARANCE:

CRIMINAL JOB:

REAL JOB/N.A:

AGE:

 **GHOST KINGS**

 _CRIMINAL NAME: (SOMETHING LIKE DARK, GHOST, OR WHATEVER YOU WANT)_

 _REAL NAME:_

 _GREY, WHITE OR BLACK:_

 _PERSONALITY:_

 _APPEARANCE:_

 _AGE: (FROM 6 TO 17)_

 _TALENT:_

 **HUNTERS**

 _NAME:_

 _AGE:_

 _APPEARANCE:_

 _PERSONALITY:_

 _TALENT: (GUN (WHICH GUN? if ANY PREFERENCE), BOW, CROSSBOW, KNIFE, LONG-RANGE WEAPONS, CLOSE RANGE WEAPONS OR ANYTHING YOU WANT)_

 **Thank you.**

 **Love,**

 **InnovativeIvia**


	6. Spit it Out

**Hello, readers.**

 **Sorry, but isn't a dream chapter. It also did not contain the character mentions that I wanted and I'm sorry but I'm sick so I'm not sorry. And I feel horrible! Thanks to you guys, I dragged myself to write this.**

 **Alex Focker (Thanks for follow! and fav!)**

 **Little Strawberry Fruit (Thanks for follow! and fav!)**

 **Lovereading11 (thanks for fav!)**

 **jj23975 (thanks for follow)**

 **RavenclawDemigodOfAthena (so a smart reader is present among us.)**

 **Wolf (Cool username)**

 **So, for everyone who was confused about the character profiles - you characters would be present in the story along with other characters such as Percy, Annabeth and Piper etc. They're just not here because your writer got too lazy and sick to dedicate some time but was healthy enough to pull a nightery to study. That's how dedicated she is to her studies and I feel so sick!**

 **Thanks for being there guys. I sincerely mean it.**

 **And also, all character profiles would have different endings. Some of them may have a tragic ending but that doesn't mean I hate you - I love you if you are fine with that.**

* * *

 _He barely heard as Annabeth said, "Well, let's practice."_

 _Then, before a word, before a warning, before any sort of freaking signal, she leaned in, her hands circling around his neck, tight. And she crashed her lips to his._

 _His senses exploded._

Suddenly, the dark room seemed to be seen in vibrant hues. He had heard that a butterfly had more spectrums than a human being – so they could see more colours. Percy felt like that. The slightest creak, the smallest wisp of wind, the smallest motion exploded in his ear. He could hear everything. He could smell everything – Annabeth's lemon scented hair, the metallic smell of blood, the intoxicating smell of gun powder, the wood – just, everything.

Most of all, he could feel everything.

Annabeth's rough hands clasped tightly around his neck, her lips moving against him, the slight roughness in them, the way their chests seem to touch, their touching knees – it was all too much.

Just as soon as she had started, she stopped, looked at him and sighed.

"Gods, Percy," She said, "Drew would kill you if you didn't kiss her back. Just kiss me otherwise, I'll have to dispose you."

She said before tangling her hands through his hair and pulling herself closer, so that their bodies were pressed tightly against each other. She was legit in his lap, now. It was distracting in some way but most of all, it was heart breaking. How many more dreams would he have to sacrifice? Being safe. Gone. Being with his mother. Gone. Becoming an Olympic swimmer. Most likely gone. He'll either die or become a trauma patient if this went on. He didn't think trauma patients could swim in Olympics. And now, even his private dreams were being taken away like, celebrating his birthday on a beach, probably with _both_ of his parents, for once and having a special first kiss.

It was all gone.

Annabeth reached in to kiss him and this time, he responded – no matter how much he hated it – passionately, turning all his emotions into fuel for kissing her. Her hands clenched his hair.

Everything was gone.

She twisted her head to kiss him deeper and he tilted his own head back, letting her in. His hands clenched her thighs – it was the only thing he could hold with his tied arms.

Percy Jackson wasn't who he was or wanted to be anymore.

He was gone.

He felt his cheeks getting hot. So, he was crying. Great. Annabeth pulled back a little while after.

"Whoa, you can kiss – wait, are you crying?" She asked. Percy didn't reply, neither did he bother to look at her. Instead, he lowered his head, thankful for his long black bangs that hid his eyes out of sight. He felt her body heat and that was how he knew she was trying to reveal his eyes.

"Don't," He warned. He did not want to see her and neither did he want her to see him.

Annabeth did not speak anything but when she did, her voice was cold – losing even the slightest bit of closeness that it had previously contained. She might have kissed him but now, he knew not to focus on little things like that. Little thing like, taking a bullet or kissing someone were just ways of business here, not something that symbolized importance of love and compassion. Annabeth and he were doing business in a way – he was her hostage, after all and she was his kidnapper. If he didn't prove himself in any way, he would have no purpose therefore, he would better be dead.

That was it.

"I think you can manage it all fairly well," Annabeth said, "Just remember – Drew is not forgiving. Don't cry unless she tells you too. Don't think that she hints you. If she wants something, she'll ask for it. Don't tell her anything about us,"

"And – and if she asks for it?" Percy asked silently, not looking at her. He heard a movement from her, but he did not see it.

"Well, decide where your loyalties lie," She said, "I hope you have good thinking. You are not being favoured from any side, Percy, just remember that. Neither Aphrodi, nor Olympus supports you. You find your way but if you fight for yourself, first – both sides could kill you. Your life isn't as meaningful to us as it is you. Either life or death would grace you, but you'll be alone when either happens. Die alone or live alone. Good luck."

Percy felt like he was being sent to some place from where he wouldn't return. Annabeth's prophetic words had certainly made it seem that way – 'Either life or death would grace you, but you'll be alone when either happens. Die alone or live alone.' He would admit it. He felt like he was warming up to Annabeth like, by a miniscule inch but her last words to him have stomped that hope out. She didn't care about his life – 'Your life isn't as meaningful to us as it is to you.' Okay, great. All she cared was about her stupid gang, Olympus. Like such a lame name.

Annabeth had set his bonds free the following morning, 11th August. Only seven days to his birthday.

"Get up," She ordered after setting his bonds free. Percy stood up, his numb legs returning to their senses.

"Where are we – oh okay," He said after looking at her expression. _No questions._ She opened the door and they stepped out. There was a small lit hallway leading to the stairs. She had never seen such fancy attic-stairs. The stairs were those swirling rock ones with those thick handholds through which you slide down. Percy used to do that when he was a kid (Who was he kidding? He still did that.)

When they climbed down, one flight of stairs, Annabeth led him through another. He noticed that the walls on one side were cream-white, lit with beautiful electric lanterns. The house was shaped like a rectangle. There were three floors plus the attic. Percy saw that all the floors except the attic and the ground floor had a square shaped hole in the centre of the rectangle, along which glass railings were put with porcelain vases with green plants and white picnic tables and bean bags. The ground floor was visible through there. The rooms were built along the walls. On the ceiling, the biggest chandelier that Percy had ever seen glittered, giving the place a bright feeling. The main colour them was white-cream with brown wood.

Percy also noticed that Annabeth wasn't pressing a gun to his back or anything. She was confident that he couldn't get away from here, which meant that he wasn't up for trying. He knew he'll be killed.

Annabeth led him down to the ground floor where in the centre, where the above floors were open was a large … pillow gathering. There were many thick pillows, some sofas and some comfy chairs and blankets. There were many people there, like about twenty or something.

He spotted Piper, talking to a guy with blonde hair with blue eyes and a latino guy with brown curls. She spotted Annabeth first.

"Oh, there she is," Piper pointed out to the others and the conversation gradually fell away. All eyes focused on Percy.

 _Criminal eyes_ , he thought, but he had trouble believing that these guys were criminals. They looked like normal teenagers.

"Oh, hey Percy," A girl with blue eyes and black hair said, "You look better than the last time I saw you. Well, you were unconscious and losing blood, then. I am Silena Beauregard." The girl said cheerfully, waving at him. He didn't know whether to wave back or not so he looked at Annabeth, but she wasn't looking at him. She wasn't even beside him. She was talking to a girl with brown wavy hair and green eyes, which reminded him of Rachel, who wasn't here.

"Now, guys listen," Annabeth announced, "This is Percy."

"Percy what?" The guy with the blonde hair asked.

"Percy – Oh, wait," She turned towards him with a killer (Not punning or whatever) look, "Full name."

"Perseus Jackson," The name shot out of his mouth like a water jet (Really not punning.)

"Yeah, okay," Annabeth said, "You'll know what to do, right? This might be our last chance. If this doesn't work … then, it's war. I don't fancy that."

"Neither do I," Silena said.

"Oh, I do." A guy with curly brown hair and a troublemaker smile said, "Right Connor?"

"Damn right, Travis," Connor said, "Let's destroy those pretty faces and twisty mouths. Honestly, it's so infuriating. Normal people with un-godly looks are much better." Was he looking at the girl Annabeth was talking to earlier? Yep, he was. Percy didn't know what to make of this. He'd considered criminals to be completely different – aliens to him. But they were all like real normal people. They had crushes, they liked comfortable pillows and they talked like normal people. He had expected them to talk in code language, always.

Annabeth just rolled her eyes, "There is a reason why you two need parental guidance."

The said boys protested but Annabeth continued.

"Anyway, Jason, Frank – you take Percy. Tell him the basics. Then, Piper and Silena could get to work. Till then, Leo, contact Clarisse. The Stolls could check up on the Wellbourne house with Beckendorf. Take care of the cameras in the street. Lee and Michael could pick some weapons as a friendly gift to the Hunters. I heard they were in town. Katie, Miranda and Hazel could check up on the new gangs and see if they're being troublesome. Rest of you, take turns guarding or practice. All clear?" Annabeth announced. Percy didn't get to hear everything because, the guy with blonde hair and blue eyes and a big guy with narrows eyes and baby Asian features took him by the arms and dragged him to the side, past a big kitchen, down some stairs into the basement, lit by white lights. It was big with weapons piled in steel racks. There were some rooms, here and they dragged him to one. He just hoped it wasn't a torture room.

When he entered the room, he saw it was empty. They let him go.

"What?" He asked.

"Sit." The blonde commanded.

"On the floor?" He asked.

"Yeah, just sit." Percy followed his command and Jason and Frank (Percy didn't know who was who) sat down, too.

"Okay, good," The blonde said, "I'm Jason Grace and this is Frank Zhang. We'll be teaching you the basics of fighting."

Percy wanted to squirm. He felt very awkward with Jason so, he decided to voice himself out, "Are you always this formal?"

Surprisingly, Jason blushed, "No, I don't think so. Maybe, but no-"

"I know, right?" Frank, with his baby face and buzzcut, said, "It feels so creepy, sometimes."

"I'm not creepy!" Jason protested, "It's just that you guys are too crazy, so you think I'm formal. I talk like any normal person does!"

Percy shook his head, "I go to school, an almost-normal school. Nobody talks like that. Not even the teachers."

"See? He agrees." Frank said, "You're creepy. C for creepy."

"And you're C for Chinese Canadian. Did you know," Jason turned to Percy, "That Frank won Spell-Bee awards in his school? Like can you believe that?"

Percy looked at Frank, who was blushing furiously.

"I think I'm the most normal one, here." He said.

"No way! Normal people aren't swimmers with world records, they don't take bullets for their kidnappers and they definitely do not talk to their kidnappers like you do." Jason said, pointing at himself and then, at Percy.

"Well, I didn't know that kidnappers talked formally, won spell bees or considered themselves normal." Both Jason and Frank blushed.

"But, I really think I am okay compared to some other people here," Jason continued, "Piper and Annabeth are just – I won't even talk about them. Katie and Miranda, sisters with dark hair and green eyes are fond of gardening, cultivating and eating cereals. Leo, he is my best friend with dark skin and curls and Beckendorf with a builder's body – they can talk forever about mechanical things and Silena, her favourite thing is make up. I am pretty normal."

"Dude," Percy said, "You didn't have to give such a long speech."

"It was shorter than the speech Frank was going to give you." Jason replied.

"How did you-" Frank asked with wide eyes and bewilderment in his face,

"I told you." Jason said.

"Completely not normal," Frank whispered to Percy.

Jason coughed then, "Well, anyway. We're here to teach you the basics of fighting, just in case."

Percy hoped that 'in case' never happened but it was fun to listen to Frank and Jason. They taught him about some Aphrodi's major cronies and fighting stuff such as how to throw a good punch without getting bloody knuckles, how to kick without breaking your leg, how to use someone's momentum to flip up, how to block and all those little things with ultimate jokes, puns and sarcasm, so Percy understood well.

Then Percy was taken to Silena and Piper and he bathe, brushed his teeth, used the restroom, combed his hair and got dressed up.

"You look like a model!" Silena exclaimed, "So hot."

Percy blushed. His only female friend ever had been Lou Ellen and he was used to being called 'idiot,' 'ugly,' 'stupid,' 'how do you manage to look that bad?' by her. He wasn't really comfortable with 'pretty eyes,' and 'hot.'

"And Percy, when you're with Drew, just try to be emotionless. Don't do anything unless she commands you to. Don't smile, blush, laugh, cry or glare at her. Just try to be extremely emotionless. Okay? Don't talk to her unless she asks you to. Don't tell her anything about us." Piper said, counting points on her fingers.

"And if she asks me?" Percy asked the question that he had asked Annabeth.

"You know the best answer to give when you don't know anything? Tell me what it is." Piper said.

Percy thought about it and then shrugged, "I don't know."

"Exactly."

"What? I have to say exactly when she asks me questions?" He frowned.

"No, I don't know!" Piper exerted.

"You don't know?"

"No, idiot!" Piper said, finally switching into a tone that Percy was used to, "When she asks you something about us, tell her that you don't know!"

"Tell her that I don't know – oh," Percy said slowly before saying it loudly, "Oh, I got it! I got it."

Piper face-palmed, "Man, with those wits – how are you going to do this?"

Percy stared at her, "Well, it's not like I signed up for it, you know."

Silena sighed, "Now, now. Kids stop arguing. We should take him to Annabeth, now. She'll drop him."

Piper nodded and asked him to follow her.

As he was exiting Silena looked at him and her big, blue eyes were filled with fear, "Good luck, Percy, even though you won't have any."

doo

The car ride with Annabeth was mostly silent. She seemed to be completely in focus but to Percy, their kiss just kept coming up.

"Focus," She muttered as she took a turn. Her eyes were dead ahead at the road. He didn't know whether she was talking to him or to herself. He went back into his thoughts. He was so dam nervous. Guns, blood, pain, swords – they had a different charm to them. Like how dangerous things attract you while safety seems boring. Percy's heart was beating so fast – he was so afraid, furious and sad at the same time. He didn't know what he felt but he was feeling hard.

"Hey, you," Annabeth said, and Percy turned towards her, "Focus. Think. Calm your mind. You look like a six-year old right now."

Percy was about to snap back but he didn't. He didn't want to. He didn't want to talk to her. He stayed silent for the rest of the ride. The purr of the engine was the only sound that was heard throughout the car ride.

When they reached the street, Annabeth parked the car and gracefully leaped off the car. He got out too.

"Red Rose Street," She announced and then, narrowed her eyes, "They're all quite like the street name. Red rose for love and desire and red roses for blood. You might have heard, 'Roses have thorns, too."

"Thorns, huh?" Percy looked around. He wasn't tied, and he wondered if he could escape. Before he could say anything, Annabeth lead him towards the building. This time, a guy with an eye patch, pale skin and black hair appeared to lead him. Percy guessed he was Ethan Nakamura from the information given to him by Jason and Frank. They had told him that Ethan was a great fighter and a great spy who changed gangs a lot. They didn't know which gang he ultimately belonged to but Aphrodi believed him to be theirs. They were sure he was going to desert Aphrodi.

' _Aphrodi only treats him well and believes in him because he was a traitor to us – Olympus. He betrayed us by leaking confidential information to Aphrodi which gathered a group to kill Chiron, who is like a father to all of us. He'll never be forgiven." Jason had told him, angrily._

When they reached the house, they didn't stop. They went around the back, where there was a large back glass door. Ethan stopped and turned back.

"This is where you stop," He said to Annabeth, "I'll take the tribute further."

Tribute, huh? So, now they were going Hunger Games on each other? Percy's hand fisted and he clenched his teeth. That was all he is – a tribute.

Annabeth looked at him, a short glance with no empathy, no caring, no nothing and then, nodded.

"I'll pick him up at midnight. Give Drew my regards."

Annabeth and Ethan nodded to each other before Annabeth left with her blonde ponytail swishing from left to right. She did not look back even once.

"Follow me," Ethan started walking ahead and he followed. The large doors led to a swimming pool – not exactly indoor since the ceiling was open but closed from the other sides. It was painted dark blue in colour and the pool was filled with bright, blue water. The sunlight sparkled over the small bubbles and the bouncy waves that rose in the swimming pool.

Ethan waited with him for a few minutes before the door opposite to the one they had entered, across the length of the swimming pool opened slightly.

"You may leave him, now," The voice, unmistakably Drew, called out. He got chills hearing to her after she had shot him. Ethan nodded obediently and left. He locked the back door.

No escape.

Just then, the other door opened completely, and Drew walked in and man, as much as he hated her, he appreciated her looks but he didn't like them. Her chocolate brown eyes looked soft in the sunlight and they flickered as the light caught them. They were rimmed with pink eyeliner which made her eyes even more softer and it was a given fact that anyone who could rock pink eyeliner was god gifted. Her wavy dark hair shone and was perfect – not even a strand tucked out. Her toned skin went perfectly with her clothes – a red bikini.

Drew smirked at him, "Well, honey." At her voice, all the 'Drew looks good,' thoughts disappeared from his mind. She was an ugly – person. An ugly person. He hated her, but he tried to muster the emotion from his eyes into disappearing.

He stayed silent.

She walked towards him, "Why are you standing so far?" Percy thought about walking nearer but he remembered the advice to not take any hints, "Come here."

He did.

She made him sit on a chair with no handholds and then, she unbuttoned his shirt. But he wasn't blushing this time. He wanted to cry. He wondered why he didn't hit her and try to run away. But wondering did not lead him to answers.

When Drew was finished unbuttoning his shirt, she brought out some – you guessed it – ropes and tied him up and then, he couldn't really focus on her or his surroundings because, once again, he was back in his dreaded zone. His phobia returned along with tons of other feelings. It didn't get better when Drew sat on his lap.

"Better," She said, running a hand through his hair but he couldn't feel it. All he felt was the pounding of his blood, his hard breaths, the roughness of the ropes.

And then, Drew kissed him.

When he was trying hard to get a sense of himself, when he was trying hard to not suffocate, when he was trying hard to not curse out loud, Drew kissed him. He felt even more suffocated. Her kiss was too touchy – touchy for him. He didn't want to taste the strawberry taste of her mouth, the small yet quick tongue, the texture of her lips – it was too soft. And he specially didn't want to taste her expensive lipstick.

When she separated, Percy was panting but Drew didn't miss a beat.

"Now, tell me honey – what does Olympus want from Aphrodi. If you don't, I'll shoot you. Again. And you must know that the third time is the last time. Spit it out."

* * *

 **Review!**

 **I** feel like I'll vomit. (Why isn't the bold thing working?!"

Bye.

 **Love,**

InnovativeIvia


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